The Tall Trees- A slender man tale
by RoundRhombus
Summary: A man goes on a hiking trip to the beautiful mountains. But then his trip takes a drastic turn. His car brakes down and he is lost in the middle of nowhere. Until he finds a old town that is nowhere on the map. The people there are very odd. So is the forest. It has tall hills and tall trees that hold horrifying secrets that Jack will learn more about then he should have.


The Tall Trees

The jeep was dark green. Small but big, in a way. But the jeep isn't important. The road is. The road was made of dirt and had massive potholes. On the one side were tall thin grey trees. On the other side were big dark mountains. Their shadows hovered over the road. It made the whole area under them colder and darker. This road supposedly led to nowhere. But it did. It led to something dark and evil. People may wish it led to nowhere, but most people don't know about it, but the people that do never came back.

Jack was halfway there. He was excited yet afraid of going hiking on the nearby mountains. For some reason nobody ever actually named the mountains. Which Jack found strange. He had heard about these mountains from his friends before. His friends had told him that the area was so peaceful and that the mountains had a magnificent view. "If it was so peaceful why didn't they come with?" Jack said to himself as he drove past a old log cabin which was slowly crumbling to the ground, "Only a few more minutes…" he was uncertain on what he was saying was true. He looked to his side and saw tall, thin, and grey trees, they had no leaves and they looked like they never even had any. Now the road seemed to go forever and all it did was just add more mileage on to his old jeeps motor. Then… he heard a loud thumping noise.

*thump* *thump* *thump*

His car got slower and slower. The noise got louder every mile he went. Then the jeep stopped and smoke came out of the hood. Jack slammed his hand angrily on the steering wheel. The airbag popped out and pushed his body hard into the seat. "OW! My back!" he screamed with excruciating pain. His back was always bad. He never sat up straight when he sat down at the computer which was the reason his back was so bad because he was always on it. Always. He hopped out of the jeep while holding his back. He then lifted the jeep hood and saw nothing wrong. He better call the police. But would they even be able to come out into the middle of nowhere? Maybe the state police. He pulled out his phone. He looked to see if he had any signal. Just as he figured, nothing…

He then tried to call the police. Static… thats it. Maybe a car will come down. Jack stood by his car, waiting. Thirty minutes went by, nothing. " I better find a payphone and call the police or a tow truck at least," Jack started to walk down the road. He walked and walked and walked. His feet were sore now. He almost thought they were bleeding. It was dark and the only light was from the moon. Then jack couldn't take it anymore. He then to started to fall to the ground and as he fell he saw in the midst of all the trees, a tall thin man. Then all he saw was black.

"PAPERS! PAPERS! Get your papers here!" A boy was yelling out from the sidewalk next to his newsstand. The town was busy. Businessmen were walking all around the town, trying to get to their jobs. Everyone seemed to walk into the same building. It was the only good paying job in the small town for barely any work at all. One businessman walked up to the boy and gave him five cents and took one of the papers. He looked at the front page "MISSING BOY."

He started to read the story. Then he saw the boys name, Leslie. That was one of his co-workers kids. "HAROLD!" he was knocking at Harolds door, "Harold! I heard what happened!"

A low, sad, and depressed voice came from the door, " Harolds not here…"

"Mrs. Wright i'm so sorry about your son," his voice got lower as he said it, " But i need to know where your husband is!"

"Harolds out in the woods…" Mrs. Wright had tears going down her cheek. She wiped them off with a cloth. She went back to the living room and sat down.

"Thank you," he said as he walked off into the cold dark woods.

The winter breeze hit Harolds face as he walked through the woods. "Leslie! Where are you?!" He screamed out into the darkness of the forest.

"Harold!" The businessman yelled out into the woods as well.

"Jerry?" Harold turned around and could only see the white snow piling down from the sky. Harold could only see a tiny shadow in the distance. "Jerry! Get out of here! I NEED to find him on my own! He's my son! And I lost him! Its all my fault…" Harold was hard to hear through all the snow and the wind. But Jerry was able to make out what he was saying.

"NO! Harold its not your fault!" Jerry didn't know if Harold could hear him. But Harold did and he just kept walking forward. The snow started to come down harder and all Jerry could see was white. Jerry then decided to walk back.

"Wake up!" Jack jumped up from the bed. "Did I scare you?" Jack's eyes were still focusing on whatever was in front of him. He then saw a man with a long grey puffy beard.

"Who are you?" Jack said as he looked around the room trying to find a clock or something. Nothing.

"My name isn't as important as yours actually. You were trespassing on my land," The man said as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"I wasn't trespassing, I was on the road." Jack said as he looked at the cup of coffee with admiration.

"Well, Thats not where I found you," the man said as he sipped the coffee. Jack wanted to argue with the man, but wondered if the man would kick him out and leave him in the middle of nowhere with no food.

"The names Jack…"

"So Jack, what were you doing up on the road?" He sipped more from his coffee.

" I was coming up here in my jeep to go hiking, until my plans were disturbed due to my jeep breaking down,"There was a short silence.

"Oh hiking… How interesting, well i must warn you there are many animals up in those mountains i would be careful if I were you,"

"I will, but i don't think i will go due to my back, those airbags really pack a punch."Jack said jokingly. Apparently he didn't get it.

"Well anyway, lets take a tour around the town, and forget all about this. Ok?"

"Alright," Jack stood up and followed the man out the door. Jack was relieved.

"FINALLY! civilization!" Jack thought he hasn't seen a town since yesterday, or was it… a few days? He didn't know, "Excuse me sir?"

"Yes?" as the man turned around to look at Jack.

"Exactly, what day is it?"

"Oh… I don't know… I never really think of that kind of stuff." Jack looked at the man with disbelief. How could he not know what day it is? Or even what the time is? The man reached for the doorknob and opened the door. At first Jack was excited, but then he saw it. The dark, old, and depressing houses and buildings. Almost looking like they would crumble down. He then saw the people. The people trudged around with a small little frown on all their faces. Their clothes were old and worn out, some even too big for them. Now he wasn't so glad to be back in civilization. The man took him around the town and the more he saw it the more he got depressed and sad. He waved to most of the people, but they just looked up and begged for money or food. Everything was depressing in this town. " And here is are Inn!" the man pointed at the tall building. Almost looked like an old business building or some sort of old company, "You will be staying here tonight, i'll go get you room." The man smiled and went to the door.

"Sir?"

"Yes?" The man quickly turned around.

"I never did get your name" it was getting dark out and they both didn't want to be out there at that time for some reason.

"The names Leslie," Leslie stuck out his hand and Jack shook it. Leslie went into the Inn so did Jack. They were greeted by a short pudgy woman.

"Hay there Leslie!" the woman's voice had a very strong southern accent.

"Hello there Doris," Leslie said as he moved his hand up in a waving signal.

"Well, who's this young fella?" Doris looked at Jack up and down she obviously thought him a threat at first.

"Well Doris this is your guest, Jack. He'll be staying here for the night," Leslie smiled then opened the door. The cold breeze came in. Jack started to shiver, but Leslie and the woman didn't for some reason.

"How odd," Jack thought.

"Well Jack, Have a good nights sleep," Leslie grinned as he walked through the door. Even though he was walking through a depressing town he almost seemed a little cheery.

"Well jack you'll be in room 506, and the buffet is all yours!" Doris pointed over at the buffet table . Jack instantly was amazed.

"FOOD," He was so happy. He had been so hungry since he woke up. But "it was all his?" That made Jack wonder if he was the only one (Except Doris) in this inn. Possibly that can't be true. How could such a comfy place be ignored? Another strange thing he thought of when he reached for a small can of soda. Was that the whole building looked like a old business. After wolfing down the buffet food Jack went up to his room. He was so tired he didn't care if he slept in his dirty clothes. He fell right asleep.

Jack woke with a startle. "WOOF!" A dog? Jack looked for a clock. None. What is going on here? He thought as he struggled to get up. He stood up and limped and trudged his way to the window which faced the forests. "WOOF!" Jack looked outside and saw a dog barking at his window specifically. He stared at the dog, and the dog stared back. Then everything went out of focus. Jacks vision went blurry.

"FOLLOW ME…." A voice came out of nowhere. Jack had his hands over his ears. He was shaking his head back and forth. His ears were ringing. Then it stopped. He grabbed his small flashlight. He stopped in front of the forest entrance, or something that looked like an entrance. He thought for a second,"Why exactly was he going into a forest?" He had been petrified of forests since he was a little kid. So why was he going hiking? The question ran through his head, He had no answer for it, and never thought he would. So he ran off into the forest to find the dog.

"LESLIE!" "LESLIE!" Harold was still out in the dark forest. He was determined to find his lost son. He knew he was getting hypothermia he could feel it. Everywhere. He couldn't take the chill anymore after all this time of searching. He fell to his knees and could feel the snow soak into his pant legs. He then fell forward. His whole suit was wet and cold. As he was on the ground he started to cry. The tears slowly started to turn into tiny pieces of ice. He then closed his eyes. But still had frozen tears coming out of his eyes.

Jack was now thinking why exactly he was following this dog? Was it the voice? Or was this just a dream? If it was a dream he wouldn't be asking if it was a dream. Common sense… but he pinched himself to make sure. Nope this was real. The dog then stopped running. Then a burst of snow came straight towards Jack. He covered his eyes. "WOOF!" He could still hear the dog even through the strong snow. He could only see white then it lightened up.

And in front of him stood a tall,thin man. Jack jumped back. He looked at the man a little harder and saw he wore a black suit with a red tie.

"Do you know whats going on here?!" Jack yelled at the man. He couldn't see the mans face the white snow covered it up. No answer.

"SIR?!" Jack yelled at the man as he stood up from the snow. No answer. Jack shined his flashlight at the mans face. Only a white pale head was there. Jack dropped his flashlight. The dog was right next to Jack.

"GRRRRRRRRRR," The dog growled at the man. Then pounced and bit the man's leg. Long tentacles came out of the mans back and grabbed the dog and threw the dog to the side. The dog started to shake on the ground with white foam coming out of its mouth.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" A loud screeching noise echoed through the forest. It almost looked like the man did it. But how was anyone supposed to know, the thing had no mouth. Jack was already running he kept running and running until he hit the dirt road. Leslie heard the screech and woke with a fright. He stood up and got his ski jacket and flashlight out and ran into the woods.

"I should have warned him…" Leslie said to himself as he ran into the forest. Leslie knew what was out there but never discussed it to anyone. He had lost his dog to what was out dog meant everything to him. It seemed like these woods would just swallow someone and never spit them back out.

Jack followed the dirt road he didn't know which way he was going all he knew was that he had to get away from that thing. The more he ran more he ran the more pain his back was in. The aching was too much he wanted to stop but he couldn't he just kept going and going.

"LESLIE," Leslie could hear voices echoing through the woods as he walked. "WHERE ARE YOU…" Leslie knew that being afraid would just make it worse.

"I know exactly what you are, and i'm not afraid of you!" There was a long silence. Then Leslie felt something behind him. He slowly turned around and saw a tall faceless creature. Thing was just staring at Leslie. It tilted its head slowly.

"FOuND YoU...son," Leslie could tell the voices were in his head, but, it almost seemed like the thing was saying it.

"Dad?" Leslie said as he looked at the faceless creature. Then the creatures face started to shape into something, almost like clay. Now Leslie could see his dads face.

"Son.." The thing now had his dads voice. Leslie knew he had found his dad. Then long tentacles came out of things back. Leslie couldn't breathe the tentacles wrapped around his neck then he fell into the snow.

Jack found his jeep. Smoke was still coming out of it. How long had he been gone? He knew it wouldn't work but he kept trying to start it, the jeep just grumbled like a bear. He wasn't going anywhere. He thought he could see the thing coming towards him. He started to run. Bright lights started to shine from behind him. He tripped in one of the potholes. It was coming closer.

"STAY AWAY!" He screamed at the bright lights. He cuddled up into a ball and started rocking himself back and forth. He heard a slam of a door.

"Sir, are you ok?" Jack looked up, and saw a police officer. "Sir are you ok?" Then something turned a switch in Jacks brain.

"The tall trees…"Jack smiled and giggled as he said it. "The tall trees!" Jack started rolling around in the dirt laughing. The policeman picked him up off the ground.

"Alright lets take you back into town…" The policeman put Jack in the car.

"NOOO he'll find ME!"

"Alright stop this nonsense! Or i'm going to have to put you under arrest!" Jack started to laugh. He was staring behind the police officer.

"What are you…." The police man turned around. Then pulled his gun out but it was too late. He had already fainted to the ground. Jack just stared off into space, laughing. The laughs just echoed through the empty forest.


End file.
